1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bicycle saddles and more particularly to a saddle that includes a reduced surface area, cut down sides and a substantially inwardly tapered rear portion.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
The basic design of the bicycle saddle has not changed significantly in over 100 years. The shape of modern performance oriented bicycle saddles are generally horizontal in profile with a narrow front end portion (the horn or pommel) and a wider, flared tail portion with a concave intermediate portion for inner thigh clearance while riding.
Most modern high performance saddles consist of a pliable or semi-rigid molded plastic or nylon shell over which a padded leather, plastic or vinyl cover is fitted. The use of these materials in modern saddles has resulted in a lighter, more durable and more appealing saddle than those of even ten years ago, but the seat contours have remained substantially the same.
The desired characteristics a good high performance or competitive saddle include minimal weight, stiffness, comfort, and a functional outer surface contour which aids in rider performance during competitive cycling. Specifically, all of these characteristics should be combined to form a saddle which affords the rider a degree of freedom of movement to quickly get on and off the saddle when necessary during a ride.
For example, in the sport of mountain biking, the rider must often negotiate a steep rugged decent on a rutted and rock strewn single track trail or fire road. In this situation, the rider must repetitively to get on and off the saddle to redistribute weight over the rear wheel to avoid a dangerous "endo" maneuver (i.e., where the center of gravity of the bike and the rider is skewed to a point where the bike and rider cartwheel end-over-end). Typical prior art performance saddles having a widely flared rear end portion do not have sufficient inner thigh clearance and inhibit the rider's ability to quickly slide off the back of the saddle.
Instead, the rider must first lift his or her pelvis upwardly off the saddle then backwardly in order to clear the widely flared rear portions of the saddle. When timing and balance are most critical, this upward and backward lift off motion during a difficult descent may quickly upset the rider/bike center of gravity forcing the rider to slow down abruptly to avoid crashing. Further, these prior art saddles will typically have their greatest width dimension (as viewed from above and looking down at the saddle seating surface) located substantially at rear terminal end of the saddle, thus resulting in a blunted rear end portion which makes for difficult transitions back onto the saddle from the rearward direction. Accordingly, the ideal mountain bike saddle should have a reduced width in the rear saddle portion for permitting inner thigh clearance when getting off the back of the saddle and should have a gradual and smooth taper in the width of the seating surface from the widest point of the rear saddle portion to the rear terminal end to permit smooth transition back on to the saddle.
Also, in competitive road cycling, a reduced and gradually tapered rear saddle width is also functionally desirable since it permits a racer to "throw" his or her bike across the finish line during a sprint (i.e., where the rider thrusts the handle bars of the bike forward and slides off the rear of the saddle at a critical instant to gain precious inches). A saddle having a widely flared upper seating surface will interfere with the inner thigh portions of the rider's leg during this "throwing" action, thus inhibiting the rider's ability to gain the additional inches necessary to win a close sprint finish.
The desired competitive saddle must also adequately support and distribute the load associated with the pressure points of the rider's lower pelvis region on the saddle surface to ensure rider comfort for prolonged periods of use. While most modern day saddle manufacturers take advantage of advances made in plastics, composites and metallurgy for designing a saddle which is both light weight and comfortable, compromises are usually made to one or more of the desired characteristics of the ideal performance saddle. Accordingly, a saddle which successfully combines all of the above desired characteristics is lacking in the art.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,098,537 and 4,099,796, both issued to Jacobs, disclose bicycle saddles which exhibit increased stiffness and resistance to flexure. The saddles include a nylon shell portion having an adjustable longitudinal tensioning rib incorporated within the underside of the shell for increasing the longitudinal stiffness of the saddle and a transverse rib extending across the saddle at the central transition portion to impart flexural stiffness to the saddle. The tensioning rib, while providing stiffness to the nylon shell portion adds an undesirable amount of weight to the saddle.
U.S. Pat. No. 574,503 (Van Meter, 1897) discloses a saddle having a surface contour design to distribute the pressure points of the rider's pelvis. The saddle surface contour includes two rearwardly disposed, bilaterally symmetrical concavities for receiving the ischial tuberosities, a centrally disposed grove for the perineum region and a raised cantle. The concavities are also padded by means of air sacks disposed between the metal frame of the saddle and the saddle cover. The rearwardly concavities, perineum groove, and raised cantle of this saddle are ill-positioned and dimension to afford the rider any enhanced comfort. The perineum groove is overly deep and long, extending needlessly far into the cantle to give any support. Advances in materials have largely obviated the need to provide such exaggerated seat surface grooves and contours. This saddle is also neither light weight nor suitable for competitive use.
A recent trend in the art has been the manufacture of extremely lightweight racing saddles which make extensive use of advances in materials technology to achieve a reduced overall weight. These saddles typically employ a lightweight perforated resin nylon base shell which is mated to a pair of titanium rails arranged along the underside shell (or base) surface in the conventional manner. The top surface of the nylon base shell is provided with dense foam padding and a leather covering stretched thereover and secured to the underside of the shell. A common problem with these and similar titanium rail, ultra light saddle designs is the tendency of the saddle rails to sag or bend after extensive use. This causes extreme discomfort to the rider as the hard contact points of the pelvic bones ride on the unnatural bowed upward bend of the saddle shell which is no longer held in a desired pelvic supporting position in view of the bent support rails. These ultra light weight saddles also do not hold up well under a rigorous riding environment such as encountered in mountain biking. Also these saddles, while aimed at the high performance market, do not contain a rear saddle region contour which permits the desired freedom of movement in getting on and off the saddle.
Accordingly, there is a definite need in the art for an improved lightweight, comfortable, stiff and functional competitive bicycle saddle which overcomes the problems of the prior art.